Saturday, September 16, 2006
OPUS ANGELORUM - DAY OF RECONCILIATION
The Day of Reconciliation took place today.
Due to a prior commitment, I was able to attend only the opening Mass. Unfortunately I was unable to catch the priest's name. Mass was different from the usual Novus Ordo in some ways.
On the positive side:
- Father was very reverent, particularly with the Eucharist.
- There were approximately 100 in attendance. Not a crowd, still more than I had expected. About 20% were men. It's good to see the men in church. Wish there had been more of them, but I'm grateful for those who were there.
- We sang an old and familiar Marian hymn for the recessional song.
- Father prayed for the pope.
- The homily about angels was faithful to the teachings of the Church. The only angel mentioned that is not in Scripture was the angel at Fatima, an apparition that has the approval of the Church.
- The Sanctus was in Latin.
On the negative side:
- Father's Austrian accent made some of what he said unintelligible.
- Mass was chanted. Mass sounds good chanted, but I can't sing, so personally I'm not crazy about it.
Some things I'm still thinking about:
- A vase of roses was placed before the altar immediately before Mass began. Roses, of course, can have many meanings, Rosicrucianism among them.
- Father wore a red vestment with a dove on the back. Isn't that the color worn only for Masses associated with the Holy Spirit such as Pentecost? This was not a Mass of the Holy Spirit.
Some questions about the rubrics:
- Father added a silent Act of Contrition prior to the Penetential Rite itself.
- One reading was about demons and sacrificial meat. Was this coincidentally the proper reading of the day, or is a selected reading acceptable since this was not a Sunday Mass?
- The handshake of peace was omitted. Not that I missed it, mind you!
- The recessional was directly from the alter into the sanctuary as it had been in the Tridentine, and as I have not seen in a NO unless the priest is incapacitated.
- A prayer during or immediately before the Canon included angels and sounded unfamiliar to me.
- Father used water to wash the paten. Is that in the rubrics? Not that there is anything wrong with doing it. Just that I didn't think it was in the rubrics.
On the whole, this event got off to a good start. Wish I could have stayed for at least one talk to see if the positive trend continued or not, but that's life sometimes.
Since this event is supposed to be taking place around my area, I'm keeping an eye out for another one. So far none have turned up, but I'll keep looking.
